Now You Know: State spending transparency

State governments vary widely in their transparency — the idea that the spending of taxpayer money by elected officials and appointed bureaucrats should be open for public scrutiny.

A recent national report grades Tennessee at 83 points out of 100 — a solid grade of B, up from a C last year.

The report lauds states that have launched websites to document spending, such as Tennessee’s tn.gov/opengov, Arkansas’ transparency.arkansas.gov and Mississippi’s transparency.mississippi.gov.

Mississippi earned 79 points, which is a C+. Arkansas earned 82 points, which is a B-.

While the details of some spending aren’t publicly available, such as payments for foster care and adoption assistance, the values of the payments are posted anyway in Tennessee, so users can understand the payments without violating confidentiality.

Speaking of spending: It cost $60,000 for Tennessee to upgrade its website to its current state earlier this year. The money came from the state’s existing budget.

Mississippi’s startup costs of $2.2 million include a major IT system overhaul; the transparency website costs $300,000 a year to maintain. The state estimates that each query made on its website saves between $750 and $1,000 in staff time.